Finishing welt and method of making the same



Sept. 27, 1932. A, L, RD 1,879,258

FINISHING WELT AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Dec. 31, 1929 Patented Sept. 27, 1932 UNITED STATES PATE NT OFFICE.

ALBERT L. HOWARD, OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HAMILTON-WADE COMPANY, OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

rmrsrrnve WELT AND ME Hoi) or MAKING'THE SAME.

Application filed December 31. 1929. Serial No. 417,307.

This invention relates to finishing welt or binding for use'in connection with upholstery or for other decorative finish. A finishing welt constructed according to this invention is particularly useful in the interior finish of automobiles and other places where materials used are subject toconsiderable wear or exposure to weather conditions, although-the invention is of more general application.

The purpose of my invention is to provide a finishing weltspresenting a particularly attractive and symmetrical appearance andwhich may be attached readily andsecurely by headed fasteners which are concealed and protected by the welt. I

In one aspect my invention consists in improvements in finishing welt of the type dis closed in application for patent; of Albert L. Howard, Serial No. 413,771, filed December 13 1929. The particular advantage of the present invention over that disclosed in aboveidentified application is that in the present construction the parts are connected by means I of concealed stitching and the stitched edges also are concealed and protected thereby.

The present arrangement differs from the construction shown in the application also in that no upstandmg marginal beads are employed but asimple flat base efl'ect is pro duced to give a smooth appearance to the binding, and is more particularly adapted for use where a more nearly unbroken surface is desired. This is accomplished by producing a bead in which there is positioned a filler about which iswrapped a body strip, one edge being sewed to one edge of a base strip and the other edge of the body strip passing over and cemented'around the sewed edges. However, one or more beads might be used by slight modification.

In another aspect my invention consists in a welt of the character under discussion, in which a bead is secured to a base portion by means of stitching concealed by other connecting means passing around it, the stitching being so located as to prevent separation of the parts and reinforcing the connection which may be otherwise cemented, thereby giving the eifect of a separately stitched hinge portion which is cemented into a covering therefor holding the parts in place.

The invention includes also within its scope a novel method of preparing and manufactur-' ing the improved form of welt herein disclosed, said method being characterized by the steps of stitching thesuperposed edges of the two strips to one edge of a filler and then wrapping the material of one strip about the filler and bringing into contact with the folded edge of the other strip.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying;

drawing, in which 7 F'g. 1 is a view in perspective of the main body strip attachedto the base strip; 7 p Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the filler strip in position on the main body strip V Fig. 3 is asimilar viewshowing the main body strip partially turned around the filler p;

. Fig. 4 is a view of a completed form of the welt; and,

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of the. com pleted welt with bead portion turned up as is necessaryin attaching the weltin'position.

A main body strip 10, as shown in Fig. 1, may becomposed of a-continuousstrip of leather, fiber or other equivalent'material or different materials, or may be of different colors, depending upon the effect desired and the type of work to be done. I

, In the next step, a half-round filler 19 may be positioned with the edge of its flat or other shaped base along the line of stitching 13 adjacent the edge 15 of the body strip 10 after having covered adjacent surfaces with cement or other similar compound." The free edge 22 of the body strip 10 is then wrapped around shown in Fig. l. A bead23 is thus formed 1 by the filler 19 and surrounding portion of the. body strip 10, hinged to the base at or adjacent to one edge of the welt.

Aftercompletion of the welt, fastening nails or brads25 may be applied through the base strip and the end of the main body strip by raising thebead 23. The position of the filler for inserting nails for securing the welt in position is shown in Fig. 5. When released, the bead will again assume its normal position, as shown in Fig. 4. The nail passes through both the base strip and the main body strip, thus holding the parts in still more firm position after the welt has been attached. The width of each strip is properly proportioned so as to cause the edge 17 of the base strip to lie in contact with or adjacent to the folded under edge 22 of the body strip 10. i

It will be noted that by arranging the parts as described both the stitching and registering edges of the two stripswill be protected from undue wear and weather conditions which might be likely to affect durability.

The only opening through which'entrance may be obtained to the stitching is through the opening between the bead and the base strip, but this opening is normally substantially closed after the strip has been applied in position. Only asingle line of stitching is required to fasten the parts. The filler may be composed of any suit-able material, such as rubber or other composition, and a clearance groove may be formed in the flat side of the filler to permit the head to lie flat upon the base strip, thus adding further protection to the welt. A filler having a cross-sectional different from that described could be substituted to suit the particular use or effect intended. V i I The construction is such as to lend itself to easy manufacturing operations and permits the parts to be assembled in orderly steps. The filler strips maybe separately carried in stock and the attached body and base strips applied when desired in colors or materials best suited for the requirements of the case. The effect of the attached head is also symmetrical and pleasing to the eye, andfrom a mechanical standpoint presents every advantage of convenience in attachment and durability in wear. It is also possible to accomplish substantially the same result without using a separate base strip by forming a tubular element of covering material, inserting a filler in one portion and cementing the filler and base portions in place in the same form as that which results in the use of a separate base strip.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A finishing welt having ahead including a filler core surrounded by a body strip, a base strip having one of its edges stitched to an edge of said body strip adjacent to and laterally of said bead, an unstitched portion of said body strip being secured to and covering-the said stitched edges.

' 2. A finishing welt having a filler core, a body strip wrapped around said filler core with one edge of the strip adjacent to an edge of the filler core, a base strip having an edge registering with an edge of the body strip, stitching laterally outside of the filler core and adjacent to an edge thereof passing through portions of said strips adjacent to said registering edges, said body strip being folded over and. covering said edges and stitching.

7 '3. A finishing welt having a base strip and a body strip including ahead, said head comprising a filler core wrapped within an inter- Q mediate portion of the bodystrip and one edge portion of the body strip being sewed to said base strip outside and laterally of the filler core and the other edge portion thereof being disposed laterally of the bead and cemented about said sewed edge.

i 4. A finishing welt comprising a filler eX- i tending longitudinally thereof and wrapped within a strip element of "the'welt, one edge portion of the element being stitched to an edge portion of a second strip element along a line'outside of butadjacent to one edge of the filler and the loose end of the first element being wrapped about the filler and about the stitched edge portions of the elements, the stitches normally holding the wrapped filler in contact with the second strip element but permitting the filler to be pivoted upwardly about the stitches. V 5. A finishing welt comprising a filler extending longitudinally thereof and wrapped within a strip element of the welt, a second strip element having one edge portion folded onto itself from beneath and forming a fold vertex at an edge of the welt, oneedge portion of the first element being stitched to the unfoldededge portion of the second element to one side of the filler and the loose end of the first element being wrapped about the filler, about the stitched edge portions of the elements, and against the bottom of the second element in the plane of the folded edge portion thereof. 7 r

' ALBERT L. HOWARD. 

